D6...And The Micronauts!

[Wajeb Deb Kaadeb]

I've been in a retro comics mood lately, reading some of the titles that excited me in my youth. I read the complete Marvel run of Battlestar Galactica, and it was excellent! The stories were fantastic. And, I loved how Marvel brought the series to a satisfying end in the last issue.

Another book I remember loving is the Micronauts. Who would have thought? A toy line, for which I was too old to really appreciate, is the feature of a comicbook series.

I couldn't believe, even back then, that I loved it! I loved it from issue #1. A friend turned me onto it, and it was a great read.

I ended up tracking down the complete series on eBay, and I am currently reading it. I didn't know if my aging adult self would like the book the way I did back when I was riding my bike down to the local store for a coke, a candy, and a comicbook.

To my surprise...the book IS STILL GOOD!





Back in the Day, when I was reading it, I hadn't become a roleplayer. I wasn't introduced to D&D until high school. I was reading Micronauts in Elementary and the first part of Junior High. We're talking 4th, 5th, and 6th grade. By 7th grade, comics were a thing of the past (until I rediscovered them as an adult about five years ago).

Today, as I read again the saga of the 'Nauts, I can't help but think how this would be a fantastic setting for a roleplaying game.

Had I the energy and drive, I'd create a game from scratch using the Open D6 rules for the mechanics, and the original Marvel comic books for the universe/background.

[Wajeb Deb Kaadeb]

What's so cool about the Micronauts? It's SPACE OPERA, man! It's an excellent space operatic saga.

Picture this...

You're in a futuristic city. A group of people fly down the street on horses. Some of them have guns. In the distance behind them, men in powered armor and hover-packs--sporting these large, torso-sized fan blades extended from the central backpack on stabilizers--chasing those on the ground.

You realize that the city is in full blown riot. Small arms fire lights up the atmosphere. Armored troops, called Dog Soldiers, hunt for those on horseback. Those fleeing are the hereditary ruler, Prince Argon, and his sister, the Princess Mari. Their parents and palace guard are dead. A warlord, dressed in black armor, has the people behind him. His troops--the Dog Soldiers--seek out royalty.

Artillery trucks appear on the street. Overhead, grav-powered weapons platforms join the armored men wearing the hover packs.

Prince Argon and his few remaining bodyguards scamper into a safehouse. Mari begins to question the motives of the people. She doesn't understand why the people have chosen Baron Karza over the benevolent rule of her family. But the answer is simple. Karza offers the populace immortality. This is something that Prince Argon despises, for Karza must stock his Body Banks with un-willing participants to use for their body parts--the citizens who will service the elites and Karza's cronies.

The armored men using the hover packs are called Acroyears, and as they hover over Argon's hideout, the Prince, inside, uses his power to summon a sentinel of the Enigma Force. The glowing, floating being is a Time Traveller, who remains a mysterious figure at this point.

Outside, more artillery appears. The weapons are pointed and fired. The front door to Argon's hiding place splinters. The weapons take out the entire wall.

A bodyguard leaps in front of Argon. As the Prince fires out into the street at the Dog Soldiers, yelling, "FOR HOMEWORLD, MY LOYAL ONES!". The bodyguard yells, "FOR YOU, MY PRINCE!" Just as a burst of artillery obliterates the guard and Prince Argon as well. The Prince's body parts litter the room.

Encased entirely in black armor, Baron Karza emerges from the smoke. A Dog Soldier says, "The Prince is not dead" Karza replies, "Take what's left to the Body Banks."

And, that's just the first 5 pages!

It's good stuff!

[Wajeb Deb Kaadeb]

Some Character Types--Ideas.

Dog Soldiers - Genetically enhanced Soldiers loyal to Baron Karza.

Royal Soldiers - Human soldiers/bodyguards

Acroyear - a warrior from a proud, custom bound race. Not human, but humanoid. They never show their faces. Their helmets show no openings for eyes, nose, or mouth from the outside.

Royalist - Underground Freedom Fighter fighting to return the Royals to power.

Roboid. This is interesting. The robots in the Micronauts universe are bio-mechanical. And, they are intelligent beings. They seem to have limited free will--more than a SW droid. Part biological being, and part cybernetic.

Shadow Priest.

[Wajeb Deb Kaadeb]

WHO ARE THE MICRONAUTS?

They come from a sub-atomic universe, contemporaneous with our own.

Their universe is quite different from ours. This is Space Opera at its best!

Homeworld is actually shaped like a molecule chain. Each of the connected orbs are different zones.

CLICK HERE FOR IMAGE



COMMANDER ARCTURUS RANN was the first micronaut, launching from Homeworld 1,000 years ago in his vessel, the HMS Endeavor (Homeworld Micro-Ship). He traveled, exploring and mapping the Microverse while in a state of suspended animation, while is brain was active, though. Rann is telepathically linked to a 6000 Series roboid* called Biotron.

During the journey, Rann's body remained in hibernation while his mind explored the universe physically through the roboid.

*Roboid: These are cybernetic machines, part mechanical, part organic. They look like robots but are, indeed, intelligent beings and self aware.



MARIONETTE is the Princess Mari of Homeworlds Royal Family. She saw her brother, the Prince Argon, and her parents killed at the hands of Baron Karza's minions, a force of Dog Soldiers. Once captured, Karza matched her with her roboid, programming the roboid to control Mari as if moving by invisible strings like a puppet. The Baron had Mari dressed in a colorful costume and made to dance and prance around as Microtron moved his puppet for the amusement of the crowds at state entertainment functions. Commander Rann rescued her.

Microtron has been her roboid jester, tutor, servant and guardian since the Princess was born.



BARON KARZA was one of Homeworld's chief scientists, 1,000 years ago, before Arcturus Rann piloted the Endeavor on its journey. He became the Overseer of the Body Banks, where humans can be regrown using the body parts of other humans. Thus, Karza is now over 1,000 years old, master of genetic technology (he sometimes prefers melding the lower half of his body to become a centaur type being), ruler of Homeworld. He offers his people immortality and demands subservience as its price.



BUG is not human, but an Insectivorid. He is a Master Thief by trade, wearing the armor of his race's galactic warriors. He is feisty and fearless and the best friend of Acroyear.



ACROYEAR is not his real name. That is impossible to pronounce. And he is of a warrior race that never shows their face to outsiders. He wears a high-tech helm that looks to be solid, with no eye slits or other openings, from the outside. He is heavily armored, carrying a powersword. He met Bug in Baron Karza's dungeons.

He is the Prince of all Acroyears, the leader of the warrior race from the microworld of Spartak. The warriors from his world are called acroyears, but he is referred to as the Acroyear.



PRINCE SHAITAN is Acroyear's blood relative. He is also the traitor that has displaced Acroyear as the leader of the warriors from Spartak, and Shaitan now serves at Baron Karza's right hand side.



THE SHADOW PRIESTS made themselves known on Homeworld about 1,000 years ago after Karza had seized power. They convinced the warlord that their religion would aid him in capturing the hearts and minds of the Homeworld citizens, which has proven quite true over the centuries.



TIME TRAVELLER who has had many names over the centuries. He is a mysterious being of energy, said to appear in times of gathering darkness, when fear has overswept the Microverse and the souls of men. It is said that he is all things to all men, yet he is truly known only to himself. He is a dweller in dreams who has chosen to answer a Royal Summons during this time of Homeworld's nightmare.

[Wajeb Deb Kaadeb]

Some technology notes...


Proton Torpedoes are fighter/ship based weapons. The torpedo is miniaturized, though, and fired like a slug throw. Imagine a gatling gun on a fighter craft except that the large shells are actually very small torpedoes.

Thorium Gun is an energy based turret weapon.

Energy Blade is a sword, crackling with energy so much that a glow appears around the blade, used by the Acroyears. The blade can tear into vehicles.

Glider Pack is a backpack and harness with stiff wings that fold out behind each shoulder, providing lift, powered by super RPM fans that blow from the tips of each wing. A trained user can fly and do aerial acrobatics using the pack.

Brain Wave Reprogramming Microtron, Princess Mari's roboid, has the ability to reprogram the brainwaves of humans, Insectivorids, and Acroyears for "interlingual translation" so that the 'Nauts can understand English on this side of the Spacewall.

Sensors on the Endeavor can be tuned to brain waves. The ship tracks down the missing Insectivorid, Bug, using this method. Kinda like a life-signs sensor, or a bio sensor that can tell the difference in species.

Pistol Commander Rann's side arm uses both sonic and laser technology to burn/burst holes in his targets.

Homeworld First Zone is the primary zone on Homeworld. Its surface is completely man-made, even the manicured parks. The poor and the unfortunate live out there lives--some never seeing the the light of day--in the Underground, which are sewer and service sectors beneath the surface of Homeworld. Power is taken by tapping into the planet's core.

[shootingwomprats]

OMG Micronauts was one of my favorite comic growing up. As an adult I prefer 1-13 and the Karza Earth War issues. I will not speak of Micronauts v2 or the stuff done by Image. Its burns us!
_________________
Don Diestler
Host, Shooting Womp Rats
The D6 Podcast
http://d6holocron.com/shootingwomprats
@swd6podcast, Twitter

[Sutehp]

[Ashikaider]

The original run of the Micronauts comic was really well done, but from what I've been able to find out about it, the storyline for the Microman toy line (Micronauts was Mego's version of Takara's Microman, along with a modified version of Takara's Steel Jeeg figure that was modified to make Baron Karza and Force Commander).

Microman featured miniaturized cyborg survivors of a dead world, and their struggles to find other survivors, as well as fend off the machinations of the Acroyears, who were Micromen whose transport capsules landed in polluted areas.

In addition to various factions of Microman and and the Acroyears, there also the Titans (Micromen who were more machine than man and had magnetic abilities), The Hoodmen, who were non cyborg Micromen who were space explorers that used special 'hoods' for space EVA), and the Arden, who were a deadly threat from another galaxy.

The initial line lasted 5-6 years before getting a reboot, and then ultimately being canceled because of the Transfomers (which was made up transforming robots from Microman and and its spinoff line, Diaclone).